The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 33, July 1929 - April, 1930 Page: 38
344 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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38 Southwestern Historical Quarterly
before the white hunters had invaded the red man's domain. Many
of the tribes were very stringent in their regulations concerning
their useless destruction and often censured white hunters who
wantonly destroyed their game supply.14 Yet, in spite of all these
precautions, their slaughter throughout the region west of the
Mississippi was considerable.
The favorite method of hunting the buffalo by the Indian brave
was to dash upon him before he could get under way in flight.
Then, armed with bow and arrow, he would approach from the
rear and aim his shaft at the soft spot between the protruding
hip bone and the last rib. When the arrow would strike this
vulnerable spot, it would often go completely through the body
of the animal and make its exit near the forelegs." Upon the
twang of the bow-string, the Indian pony was taught to swerve
from its victim in order to be well out of harm's way when the
charge came, which was certain to happen. Sometimes the horse
of the huntsman would happen to the misfortune of being gored
by the wounded bison,'6 and the Indian would be thrown violently
to the ground; or the pony would step into a den of a prairie-dog,
bringing about the same misfortune to its rider. In such instances,
many times, the hunter suffered a broken limb, and since the wild
savages knew nothing of setting the bone in place, the sufferer
would linger along for weeks, and sometimes months, until death
would claim him from his languishing pain."?
Many times, on such hunts, the Indians would throw about a
herd a cordon of hunters and kill large numbers of them before
they could escape, the outer guards turning back those which would
break through while the hunters on the inside of the circle would
be carrying out the work of slaughter.'8 In this manner, but very
few of the terror-stricken animals would escape.
There were various ways the savages had in killing the bisons.
In winter, when, from the depth of the snow, these huge creatures
"J. H. Cook, Fifty Years on the Old Frontier, 217-218.
"Thomas C. Battey, A Quaker Among the Indians, 188.
"Colonel Homer C. Wheeler, Buffalo Days, 84.
"Thomas C. Battey, A Quaker Among the Indians, 188.
18F. W. Hodge, Handbook of American Indians; Thomas C. Battey, A
Quaker Among the Indians; and for a colorful picture of a hunt, see
George W. Pine's Beyond the West, 133-141.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 33, July 1929 - April, 1930, periodical, 1930; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101090/m1/46/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.